Mayor Phil Hardberger able to work his magic with voters on changing term limits in San Antonio

A slight majority of voters said yes to allowing future City Council and mayors to run for four two-year terms, doubling the current two two-year limit. That margin barely changed as precincts were counted throughout Tuesday night. San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger served as a Peace Corps Staff member in the 1960's.

With most Bexar precincts counted, it looked as though a slight majority of San Antonio voters gave the thumbs up to giving their elected officials more time in office.

If the lead holds, it will be a huge victory for Mayor Phil Hardberger, who expended a good deal of his considerable political capital pushing the extension.

Cautiously celebrating at Sunset Station, Hardberger hadn't yet indulged in a celebratory libation when the early votes came in.

“I want to see this thing through,” he said, the din of hopeful volunteers in the background. “... It looks like we'll hold the lead.”

Later, around 9:40 p.m., Hardberger addressed the gathering, telling supporters that San Antonio had regained confidence in itself and was on its way to greatness “limited only by our imagination.”

Combined with a $550 million bond approved by voters last May, the term limits vote further demonstrates Hardberger's magic touch with San Antonio voters.

A slight majority of voters said yes to allowing future City Council and mayors to run for four two-year terms, doubling the current two two-year limit. That margin barely changed as precincts were counted throughout Tuesday night.

City Council members and mayors will still face re-election every two years, and those who already have held office would be banned from running for the additional terms.

The sitting council and Hardberger also agreed, by resolution earlier this year, that they would be ineligible. Jennifer Ramos and Louis Rowe, because they were appointed to their seats, still would be eligible to run for two full terms. Anyone on the current council, though, would be able to run for four mayoral terms.

Dr. Henry Flores, the St. Mary's political scientist who's followed all three of San Antonio's term limit elections, expressed surprise that the early results favored the extension.

The “pro-term limits folks” always have been adept, even with minimum publicity and advertising, he said, at generating publicity and turning out their vote.

“But I think the mayor is going to win it this time,” he said.

This is the third time San Antonio voters have pondered term limits.

They first were passed in 1991, when anger over city spending by long-term council members allowed groups such as the Homeowner Taxpayer Association of Bexar County to gather enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot. Irritation over the Applewhite reservoir also helped mobilize voters, Flores said.

With anti-government sentiment running high, two two-year terms, with a lifetime ban after that, passed with overwhelming support.

An effort to loosen those limits in 2004 to three three-year terms went up in flames. Still-fresh memories of indicted councilmen in handcuffs, simmering anger over rising property taxes, a lack of leadership and a campaign that failed to resonate with voters all hampered that effort.

Bob Martin, president of the HTA, was gracious Tuesday night in the face of what looked like defeat.

“Mayor Hardberger's a good salesman,” he said, adding that he was grateful to all who voted, no matter their vote. “We certainly congratulate Mayor Hardberger's team for a strong campaign that they ran.”

Martin did note that the term limit extension campaign raised almost $650,000, spent mostly on radio and television ads and phone banking, while the opposition gave them a serious run for their money on a shoestring budget.

“We had some signs, but they kind of disappeared on us ... and we ran a few ads but we haven't had — you know, we fight for those on the tax end of tax and spend, and they don't have much money,” he said, with a chuckle. “Not compared to these fat cat special interests that have all this money.

“And of course those big-money interests expect a return on their investment,” Martin said. “We don't believe it's going to be lower taxes, less spending, that's for sure.”

This year, as in elections past, not everyone who entered the voting booth bothered to touch the screen for term limits.

Only about 70 percent of voters cast a ballot for the issue, which was the last question on the multipage ballot.

Interviews with early voters found that some straight ticket voters missed the question, as did others focused too intently on the presidential election to bother casting votes in local races.

Those who did vote to allow four terms echoed Hardberger's arguments that two terms simply is not enough time for the kind of long-term planning necessary for a city the size of San Antonio.

The constant turnover is “nearsighted,” said Dan Creedon, who cast his vote at Lamar Elementary School in Mahnke Park. “It hurts us in the long run.”

JoAnn Murillo said she's been involved in community activities long enough to recognize that it “can take years” to bring a project from “an idea, to finding the resources to completion.”

Council members need time to build relationships, too, she said.

Her husband, Gilbert Murillo, said he voted for the extension but didn't think it went far enough.

Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL InterviewPeace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

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Story Source: San Antonio Express

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; Staff; Politics; City Government

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